Jaydon bolted back down the hall ignoring the screams of his mother as she tried to get him back. He pushed through the panic stricken crowd as they all tried to leave the castle. Once he was out on the grounds he looked to the sky. He could see Bator's ships start to land in different parts of the city. The sky had grown an orangey, red haze from the fire which had almost engulfed most of the forest. He ran into the forest not caring for the calls for him to come back, he had to get Skylar. He ran full pelt through the thicket and bushes. On his left the forest was already ablaze and very hot on his skin. This made him run harder. When he got to the clearing nearly all the trees were alit except for the ones he had come through.
"SKYLAR!" he yelled, the cabin door was open but there was no Skylar. He ran over to the cabin and went inside. There he found her in full death dealer garb on the floor not moving. He knelt beside her and rolled her over, she was breathing but barely. She also had a fever and there was sweat pouring down her face.
"Jaydon…" she whispered she held up a hand and he grabbed it.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's the enchanted fire it makes my people sick…" he was struggling to hear what she was saying.
"I've got to get you outta here" he vowed as he lifted her bridal style. He ran out of the cabin but he was not the only one there. Baltor himself stood there in all his glory. It was a stand off; the wizard was blocking their only route out. Skylar moaned into his chest and she stirred slightly.
"Hand over that creature" Baltor snarled taking a step forward. Jaydon knew he wouldn't stand a chance against this man or should he say monster. But unconsciously his grip on the vampire in his arms tightened and he took a step back.
"Over my dead body!" Jaydon yelled, Baltors eyes narrowed and a knowing smirk graced his handsome features.
"Do you have feelings for this thing my young prince" he was taunting now as he started to walk in a circle. Jaydon mirrored his actions, but he watched with dismay as the only way of escape went up in flames.
"You do know that these 'beasts' are immortal don't you, but you!" Baltor had stopped "are mortal! And will die while she lives on". This was one obstacle he had not thought of, and it was horrifyingly true. He looked down at Skylars pained face; he loved her and would rather spend the rest of his days with her than without her. His eyes flashed back at Baltor.
"You will not lay a single hand on her" he growled and started to look for a way out. Baltor smirked once again.
"You're choice!" Baltor prepared for an attack. Jaydon knew there was no escape and prepared to take the hit. Then the most unexpected thing happened.
"FLAME DAGGERS!" screamed a familiar voice, a voice he's heard nearly every single day for the past eight years of his life. There flying above them in her winx form was Sonja. And guess what, she was a fairy of fire how convenient.
"Jaydon go!" she screamed as she fired yet another attack at Baltor. These would have had no effect on him if it wasn't for the element of surprise, well he wasn't surprised anymore. Without any hesitation he turned to flee. Sonja was there floating just above the ground.
"You have to be quick cause I can't hold it for long!" She flung both arms in a large arc movement. Just in front of them the fire ceased in a small circle just enough for him and Skylar to jump through. He brought her closer to him and with a yell he ran at the hole. And with one great leap both of them got through just as it closed up. Breathing hard he looked back slightly before standing up again. As he ran he picked Skylar up silently thanking Codatorta for all the training he made him do. Now it was a race against the fire as it spread around him.
"Keep going Jaydon don't turn back!' he faintly heard his little sister call out. He nodded slightly thanking the gods she was still with him but there were also sounds of Baltor and the Solarian princess sharing attacks. He could see the castle just ahead but he also saw half of it was up in flames. His eyes widened in horror as he watched his home burn. He closed his briefly and turned towards where the evacuation ships were. They broke out of the forest and he caught sight of several bright yellow and orange ships rise into the air but one stayed on the ground. It was larger than the others and a yellow color. It had the royal seal of Solaria printed on the side. Stella waited at the open hatch a ramp ran from it to the ground. She was in her enchantix form pacing but she beamed when she saw her children but he watched as it morphed into horror when she saw something behind her and he could only guess she had spotted Baltor. With out stopping he bolted up the ramp and he heard he being drawn up and turned to see Sonja slip inside just before the hatch closed. Stella enveloped her daughter in a hug while yelling at her husband to go. Jaydon felt the ship rise then felt it nudged when the shields coped a hit from the wizard. He walked down the corridors his mother and sister behind him. A few civilians sat in some of the rooms and gave them forlorn looks, some were even weeping from the loss of a loved one who didn't make it. When they reached the command area they found King Brandon and some pilots along with Kyle, Brandon's second in command. He found a sleeping cot in a small room adjourning from the command made for pilots to sleep but be close enough in case of an emergency. He checked her over when he set her down. She was feverish and was whimpering quietly.
"So this is why you've been out all night lately?" his mother was at the door but when Jaydon moved aside she gasped.
"She's one of them!" she almost screeched causing her husband to come running and he did the same thing.
"Jayden why didn't you tell us!" he was scolding him.
"Because she didn't want me too, the secrecy of her people is of the highest importance!" he shouted back.
"What secrecy! Did you know it was one of them who took Bloom!" Stella had tears in her eyes. Jayden recoiled eyes wide what!.
"Do you know what she is?" Brandon asked this time of curiosity. Jayden struggled to swallow but nodded.
"She's a vampire". Now it was her turn to recoil, Stella stared at Skylar.
"But…..Faragonda said that they died out.gone.poof" she waved her hands above her head for emphasis.
"If you had read the old History Books of Earth you might've known that they did disappear but apparently to another dimension by what Skylar said to me" he explained watching his love. Suddenly they were rocked by a sudden barrage of hits that came from none other than Baltor. The people screamed and everyone had to grab something to stop from falling over. Suddenly a shout from one of the pilots alerted them.
"The shields are almost done! One more hit and we're dead!" everyone froze and stared out the front through the window. Baltor flew in front of them knowing that there was no more defense, he laughed and gathered his magic in his hands. With one quick movement he fired, but another moved as well. Skylars eyes snapped open and hands flew into the air. As she did this the whole ship was covered in a force field. Baltors hit simply dissolved as it made contact with the mysterious purple magic. Jaydon looked down at Skylar and gasped in shock. Her eyes were now the shocking blue but there was something else…like a flame.. Baltor attacked with renewed vigor but it did not penetrate Skylar's shield. The flame in her eyes soon consumed her whole eyes. This display of magic disturbed the people in the room deeply, this was very powerful magic. The shield also changed, it looked like the ship was covered in purple flames.
"Can we make the inter-dimensional jump yet?" Brandon asked one of his commanders.
"Soon, we're nearly in range!" he yelled from his control area. Jaydon looked down at Skylar, he could tell she couldn't last for much longer, he could see it on her face.
"Well go faster!" he yelled.
"Sir! I need co-ordinates" the pilot yelled.
"Set it for Erakylion!" Brandon ordered. Nodding the pilot pressed a few buttons before setting a hand on a lever. Another hit rocked the ship and the shield flickered.
"Prepare for inter-dimensional jump" he said as he pulled the lever down. There was a blast of light that lasted for a full minute. When it slowly dissipated it revealed a canyon before them, the Great Canyon's of Erakylion. He smiled, they'd made. He looked back at Skylar whose arms went limp and he eyes closed.
"Skylar!" he shouted in shock as he checked for a pulse. He found one, and her breathing was normal except it was a bit haggard. He eyes opened slightly and Jaydon watched as her eyes morphed from their fiery, scary state back the beautiful dark blue.
"You did it, thank you" he whispered, a hand on her cheek. He rubbed it with his thumb; she smiled before drifting back into unconsciousness.
"Jaydon….do you know what kind of power she holds?" Stella was kneeling next to him, there was a tinge of reverence in her voice. Jaydon shook his head but looked at his mother whose gaze was locked with her husband.
"It couldn't be…" Brandon started trailing off, Stella sighed.
"I haven't seen this amount of power since Bloom". Jaydon couldn't hide his shock.
"But that wasn't nearly as strong as the Dragon Fire" he argued.
"It was close enough" Stella whispered before kissing her son's cheek and stood up. They left him alone in the small room with her. Maybe she was some kind of link with his lost godmother, maybe she knew what had happened to her. The vampiress was sweating profusely, his hair was plastered to her face. Jaydon placed a hand on her forehead only to withdraw it. Her skin was scalding hot, she was way above the human tolerance for temperature. He heard some hurried voices from the next room then some beeping. He gave his love's hand a squeeze before heading out to find out what was happening. His mother and sister were gone, presumably to help the civilians. The King was on the command chair which was on a mounted podium in the center of the room.
"What's happening?" Jaydon asked running up to his father. Brandon turned a weary face to him, worry written on his features.
"Our sensors indicated that some of Baltor's fleet made an inter-dimensional jump behind us and are in the canyon with us" Jaydon stood rooted to the spot. The twenty ships that were now with them were all civilian except for the Royal Command which they were on, most of their military ones were either helping guard their planet from space and he and his father both knew that they would have been destroyed for Baltors ships to reach the surface. Or they were with King Sky's, either way their civilian convoy was defenceless.
"Have you talked with Uncle Sky?" Brandon nodded
"Yes, but his ships won't reach us in time". Jaydon's face fell, then this was it.
"We'll have to hold off till then" Jaydon and Brandon shared a look, they knew they wouldn't last long by themselves. Brandon glanced at the pilot's quarters.
"Could your vampire lady friend use her shield again?". Jaydon shook his head.
"She's out cold and she's seriously ill" he explained "enchanted fire is toxic to her people". Brandon nodded and looked out the view screen in front of them. The canyon was spread out before them. They had to follow it through to get to the capitol. The beeping got more erratic and loud and the men leapt into action.
"They've caught us!" his father jumped from his chair and dove into action. Jaydon groped for the command chair as they were knocked with some hits from the other ships. Black dots whizzed past their view screen, and Jaydon recognized them immediately. Baltor's Black Darts, the vessels were small and manned by one pilot alone. They were to small and quick for them to get an accurate shot and their firepower matched or if not better than their own.
"How many are there!?" Jaydon yelled over the noise.
"You don't want to know!" was his father's reply, who was currently leaning over the sensor table. Jaydon could spot the dots that represented the ships moving around. Jaydon was knocked off his feet as they were hit with another barrage. They were done for. He used the chair for support as he pulled himself up and watched the screen as a Dart flew at them head on. It was his death heading straight for him and everyone else on this ship. Then he saw it. Three black figures appeared surrounded by black smoke on their hull right at the very front of the ship. As one they raised their guns, smilar to the ones his Uncle Timmy used. They fired and the Dart blew up in front of their very eyes. Jaydon ran up further smiling like a madman. They all stared at the screen as the Darts attacking their vessels were surround by the smoke then exploded.
"The vampire warriors are here!" he cried. Everyone cheered and Brandon returned to his seat.
"Lets give them a hand shall we!" he ordered. Brandon kept his sight on the battle before him. They may yet live to fight another day.
Author's note: OMG! I FINALLY GOT THIS CHAPTER UP! I'm really sorry about the wait and I hope that this chapter was worth that wait. And thanx to my loyal reviewers I'm so sorry :)